president barack obama last week in washington. the two sides have agreed that afghan forces will take the lead in security operations starting this spring. u.s. troops will transition to a support role. unmanned drones help international forces in afghanistan collect intelligence on the 5,000 occasions last year. but afghan forces have lacked that technology, forcing them to rely on foreign allies for intelligence. international combat troops are scheduled to leave afghanistan by the end of 2014. time is running out to improve the capabilities of the of began military. and that wraps up our bulletin for today. >>> emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. emboldened citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence, the push for peace, the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." >>> the candidate of prime minister abe approved a budget to bolster the flagging economy. if approved by parliament, the budget would enable